Round 23 2012
An early Lance Franklin blitz saw Hawthorn open up a match-winning lead that West Coast were unable to peg back, going down by 25 points and missing out on a top-four spot heading into the finals. Scott Selwood had 35 touches and eight clearances in the loss, while Jack Darling worked hard in attack with 22 possessions and three goals. Summary Goals: 'Darling 3, McGinnity, Schofield 2, Gaff, Hill, Waters '''Best: '''S.Selwood, Darling, Waters, Shuey, Masten, Cox, Schofield '''Injuries: '''Kennedy (leg) '''Sub: '''Brennan for Strijk in the third quarter '''Milestones: '''Shuey 50th game, Strijk final appearance Named sides In: Brown, Brennan Out: MacKenzie (hamstring), Rosa (collarbone) Club Champion votes From the coach "Yeah, really just first quarter, we didn't play particularly well in terms of holding up the Hawks. Really, they scored too easily, too regularly and a few of them off our mistakes where we rushed a little bit. We missed a couple of opportunities ourselves which they capitalised on. We sort of gave them a big break. Where maybe it could have been a three-goal break it was six all of a sudden. "...Really that first quarter was where they tested us. Generally for the rest of the game it was game on. I think we outscored them and there's not much in it across the board statistically and looking at the two teams. There's areas we've learnt great stuff, great stuff tonight to learn from and that will make us a little bit better. "...Our intensity wasn't at their level at the very start. It's a hard thing to measure, but just a couple of balls that we got our hands on, but they stripped it too easily and we weren't strong enough to contain it. A few possessions that we had our chance to get cleared out of congested areas and we either handballed to guys under pressure and missed an opportunity to get it out of dangerous areas."''The West Australian (3 September 2012, p.GAM16), "Word for word" From the papers The West Australian "As if on a mission to prove they were true premiership favourites a week before the finals, Hawthorn pounded West Coast in the opening term to set up what would be a winning ascendancy. The Eagles could not spread with the hard-running, well-structured Hawks, who obliterated their rivals in the uncontested possession count of 60-49. It helped them set up a 34-point lead at the first break as they limited West Coast to just one goal. Franklin made a great start to chase Matthew Pavlich's lead in the Coleman Medal by booting four goals in the quarter to move to 59, one behind. For the most part after that though, he was well held by Mitch Brown."Steve Butler, The West Australian (1 September 2012, p.148), "Double trouble: Cloud over Kennedy as Hawks get jump on Eagles" The Age "The Eagles afforded the Hawks far too much space in both the midfield and even in the flag favourite's front half. It is difficult to defeat Hawthorn even from five goals ahead early in the match. To spot the Hawks almost six goals in the opening quarter is like trailing the Jamaican 4 x 100 metres relay team before the baton is handed to Usain Bolt. They aren't easily caught. The Eagles, though, have demonstrated a willingness to scrap out games and they mounted a mini-surge - not quite a comeback - in the second quarter, as a pair of goals to the exceptionally gifted Jack Darling and another to Will Schofield closed the margin to four goals. The Eagles pressed and, for a fleeting moment, there was the possibility of a serious contest. But Sewell, whose relentless productivity has been concealed by Mitchell's brilliance in the same midfield, created a goal with a deft grubber kick along the boundary, setting off a classic Hawthorn chain of possessions that ended with the accurate boot of Shaun Burgoyne. Then Buddy tapped brilliantly to Gunston, surely one of the best converters in the game. Gunston's snap pushed the margin back beyond six goals, which it would remain at half-time."Jake Niall, The Age (1 September 2012), "Hawks in pole position": http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/hawks-in-pole-position-20120831-256ff.html WAFL results '''Round 24 (1 Sept) Perth (Smith, McInnes, Tunbridge) vs Swan Districts (Newman) Claremont (Swift, Stevenson, Weedon, McGovern) vs Subiaco. Neates and Hamp played reserves Peel (Lycett) vs East Fremantle (Dalziell, Dick). Papertalk played reserves East Perth vs West Perth (Lynch) Bye: South Fremantle Injury list In the lead-up to the round the following players were listed as injured: References http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2012/101820120831.html http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2012/23/haw-v-wce 2012 23 2012 23